Grade 1/2 Experiences at Rosser Elementary
After reading “Horton Hears a Who”, students drew scenes of what could be happening in Whoville. These are posted on the bulletin board in the hallway.
Some were scenes that could be found in our hometown; some others were more creative – more Seuss-ish!
We will be wrapping up our Seuss unit this week as Reading Groups will begin next week.
Today we read Horton Hears a Who. We discussed the main idea which is that everyone deserves to be happy and live a safe and happy life. “A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small”. After we discussed the story students filled in cards answering specific questions about things they like or would like.
In The Cat in the Hat, Sally and Nick are stuck inside their house on a rainy day when the Cat shows up to create some havoc in their lives. As part of our Seuss study we brainstormed a list of things that we like to do when the weather makes it not so much fun to be outside. Students then wrote out two of their ideas on paper umbrellas and decorated them. These are in our classroom on our back bulletin board.
Check them out when you come by for Intake Interviews this week.
While we are awaiting the onset of our Reading groups (in a few weeks) we are going to be doing a literary study of the books by Theodore Seuss Geisel – also known as, Dr. Seuss. We will do all sorts of activities around some of his books: writing, predictions, extensions, and artwork. Some activities will be individual and others will be group based.
This week we have begun with the iconic classic, The Cat in the Hat.
We had an extended directed drawing lesson on facial features. Students then created their own faces through their drawing. Hats, in the style of The Cat in the Hat, were made and added to their portraits. These are on our main bulletin in the hallway.
Make sure you check them out when you come by for our Intake Interviews next week!
We continued our introspection by doing an autobiographical study and completing a fun ‘robot’ activity. I took photos of the students which were glued in the space for the robot’s head. These are on the bulletin board next to the Office in the hallway.
On Monday we began our daily read aloud: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling. We will read a few pages each day after Planners are done. Reading a chapter book is a great way to encourage active listening and the expansion of the children’s vocabulary through her very descriptive and rich writing. It is a great introduction to hearing stories that are longer and more involved. Novels provide the opportunity to learn delayed gratification (i.e. not having the whole story over in 15 minutes) as well as teaching reflection, prediction, and anticipation. I have a recently released special hardcover edition of the novel which has been illustrated throughout.
When we have completed the novel we will take the opportunity to watch the movie. Through this we will compare the book and the movie through their similarities and differences. Appreciating that most of the movies that we watch originally came from the written books is also a valuable lesson – and hopefully will inspire their love of literature.
It is so nice to have the class decided and to be getting on with our school year!!
I am looking forward to a great year. Please check back to this blog as I regularly post information regarding our class activities and upcoming events for the school.
This first few days we have begun some of our regular routines, and also had a little bit of time to get to know each other through exploration of our Math tubs.
Students also had a bit of time to explore some of the Centre activities we have in our classroom.
While we are awaiting the start of our Reading groups, our class will be doing a unit study on the books of Dr. Seuss. We will be doing lots of fun activities around his books. We are also going to be getting to know each other better via a few activities around the theme of “All About Me”.
Stay tuned …
In January we had a delivery from the Antarctica. It was a penguin (named Pringle), the novel Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and a letter from Admiral Drake – a character from the novel. We have been reading this novel over the past few weeks and we will finish it up this week. Pringle has been making home visits with students in the classroom. The students have been making journal entries about their experiences with Pringle. Each morning the students read these journal entries to the class and share their pictures. Pringle has also been adorned with a variety of necklaces, bracelets, and ribbons as a result of these visits.
Last week we finished our read-aloud of this wonderful book by J.K. Rowling. Students learned a lot of new vocabulary and seemed to really enjoy meeting the characters in this book. We enjoyed the many adventures that Harry, Ron, and Hermione experienced. As a finale to reading the story we used our new video monitor and computer set-up to enjoy the movie.
It was a wonderful treat!
Today students wrote Dragon poems using many descriptive words. We began with a great brainstorming session of the different kinds of dragons and how they may have looked.
Students then made their own very colourful dragons. These are on display in our room. Hopefully you will get a chance to come by and see them.
Gung Hey Fat Choy! Happy New Year!!